Recipe: Gluten Free Chocolate Cupcakes

Table of Contents

Makes 14 medium cupcakes (may vary depending on size of tin)

Total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

⊕ ¾ cup all purpose gluten free flour
⊕ ½ teaspoon xanthan gum
⊕ 2/3 cup cacao powder (can also use cocoa powder)
⊕ ¾ tsp baking powder
⊕ ¼ tsp salt
⊕ ¾ cup monk fruit (or preferred sweetener of choice)
⊕ 40g melted coconut oil
⊕ 2 whole eggs
⊕ 1 tsp vanilla extract
⊕ ½ cup preferred milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 175 degree celsius. Line or grease the wells of the cupcake tin and set aside.

2. In a large bowl, place all the dry ingredients together (flour, xanthan gum, cacao powder, baking powder, salt, monk fruit) and whisk until combined.

3. Creating a well in the middle of the dry ingredients, add the melted oil, beaten eggs and milk and combine altogether. the batter should be smooth.

4. Fill each cupcake mould 2/3 of the way full and evenly distribute mixture over prepared cupcake tins.

5. Place tins in the centre of the oven and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until a skewer comes out clean. Remove from the oven and allow to cool before removing from tin and allowing to completely cool on a wire rack before frosting (if choosing to do so)

6. Frosting recipe I used: Melt together 40g dark chocolate, 20g coconut oil and combine, after cooling slightly, I added in Pana Organic Drinking Hot chocolate (which is a combination of cacao power and panela sugar) until a thick mixture is created and then a spread this mixture evenly over the cooled cupcakes. Tastes amazing after being refrigerated. The team in the IMUNI office LOVED these cupcakes, so we hope you do too!

What It Actually Does

Ashwagandha is classified as an adaptogen - a substance that helps the body adapt to physical and psychological stress. But that description undersells the specificity of the evidence.

In peer-reviewed clinical trials, ashwagandha root extract has been shown to:

01

Reduce serum cortisol levels significantly in adults under chronic stress

02

Support testosterone levels and muscle recovery in resistance-trained adults

03

Improve subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and wellbeing

04

Improve subjective measures of stress, anxiety, and wellbeing

05

Improve sleep quality and reduce time to sleep onset

Why The Form Matters

Here is where most supplement labels become misleading.
The clinical trials that produced the evidence above didn't use generic ashwagandha root powder. They used standardised, patented extracts - specifically KSM-66® and Sensoril®, both of which are produced from roots using proprietary extraction methods that concentrate the active withanolides to a consistent, clinically meaningful level.
Generic ashwagandha powder can contain anywhere from 1% to 8% withanolides. KSM-66® is standardised to a minimum of 5% withanolides with a full-spectrum root extract, which means it retains the natural balance of the plant's compounds rather than isolating one component.
When you buy a supplement that says "ashwagandha" without specifying the extract form, you have no way of knowing whether it contains enough active compounds to do anything at all.
At Arise, we use KSM-66® in every formula that contains ashwagandha. It's more expensive. It's worth it.

Third-party Testing

Supplements are not regulated the same way pharmaceuticals are. In most markets, a supplement company can put almost anything in a capsule and make almost any claim about it, as long as they don't claim to treat a specific disease.
This is why third-party testing matters. It means an independent laboratory - one with no financial relationship to the supplement company - has tested the product to verify that:

The ingredients listed are actually present
They're present at the stated concentrations
The product doesn't contain contaminants, heavy metals, or undisclosed substances

Look for: NSF Certified for Sport, Informed Sport, or USP Verified certification on any supplement you take. These are the most rigorous third-party standards available.
Every Arise formula is third-party tested before it reaches you. The results are available on request.

The Honest Bottom Line

Ashwagandha works. The evidence is genuinely strong. But the quality of the extract determines the quality of the outcome — and most of what's available on the market doesn't use the forms that the clinical research actually studied.
Read the label. Ask for the extract form. Expect a specific answer.